Siphon valve unit for refrigerators



2 Shets-Sheet l w bw @W C H. Walbert.

Oct. 23, 1945. c. H. WALBERT SYPHON VALVE UNIT FOR REFRIGERATORS FiIedOct. 15, 1943 qvm ,v|||.l\|||. IIIIIIVIIIJIIIIIIIIJI'A. I l l i l I 1 II I i I I l P w E n V T m\ :dwmww 1.. w u m MK M\ Ml Oct. 23, 1945. c, HwA LBE-R A 2,387,483

SYPHON VALVE UNIT FOR REF RIGERATORS Filed Oct. 13, 1945 2 Sheets-SheetL2 amen Mom Walbert.

determined i h j a t tqeee delta i e. of th wing t ii iit .h i 'sn wneawith thw ierst efi 'hi ii he tiq i .nott nfin d to. any t i q i i rwi h Patented Oct. 23, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT omen ,ifipl'ibtihhiottdiihs, 19 1's; Serial to. 506,104

\ iat sgbhei hiiyi to the. the oire ri er tqrsiand i .di sc ed;pat iquar ;tq a

. relhunfld y n ume ns an finter t enti ipho drain formse inthqsereirigerators employing ice efrieera ne med um 4; t a. 5*

t we u rst o t a inithe .one ation. o retli erai orsiniwhi h od istkents de irabl that the air within the refrigerating chamber; he

912i s b ihun ldit a, 1 Janet eas qchan cal xrei i at dt t qr hosere rira mthelat sr 1.50 2 1 Q r trie wa erm r nn aifm t here r q at rtq adrain s sup l a erta n de e of humi ity... a

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l er ir se at Q tL. h?J t J 9. re ive driepin s q t eice hamlm whereb awhethtial area of water is kept exposed in thefood chamber. :tosupplythe desired amount of humidity to theaintherein. H A A h r bj ct o thein Gil 9 3. i to ro id nas oct or lw t. f" ,l t which i m intainedmthefo d Qham ttt shov l i lY tu tw i li. i a esien i t at it fii ita ntemitt tlrto. d n. off. he water; e" a nresisssribe w tl yel h lqm lt s onerepeat bl when theyleve,lof the water therein reaches a pie 3U Samari m?ew invention tihderstbddkramh 40 ti aken in, co in theq wi e ut math? hae @ifi "b long as such changes or; modifica 1f mat i l depar ure 201 1li f tli fi features of the sinyemtion' as. expressed in the appendedmed m e Figure 2 is a atairtrtitai sec tiorf'thro-i'igh 55 the centralpart of the heir phrtidii of the. ii

Figure 5 is vertical section hroug h the v'al e plug on the line 5- -5of Figure' i.

Figure 6 is' ayertical seotion through'the valve body and the attachedoverfiowtube. A V

Figureflis a View in top plan of the structure as illustrated in Figure6. h in g I Referring now more particularly to the,draw' ings thepresent invention is illustratedih Figures 1 and v2, mqunted in thebottom of 't'o o ber 10 of a conventionally illustrated refrigerator orice boxwhich is generally designatedfi, and the lower orti n or. which hris Sh In such refrigerators the drainage frpm the ice chamber above theroad compartment is cus tomarily carried off to the lower part otthe'odd chamber. through a tube Ito be discharged mto' a suitable drainageor carry-off funnel," not shown. v, M: In the present invention thereisproyided' in the place of the usual carry-off pipe or ijunnel which;customarily, extends through anopening I2 inthe bottom or floorlii ofthe re frigera toi, elongated open top receptacle 14 which upon thefloor of the food chamber and extends the full width thereof, suchreceptacle haying a." bottom opening coincidingwith the opening l2 inthe food chamber In,

The discharge of "the drippings which arecon veyed-from the' ice chamberthrough the tube l i into the receptacle" I tis'controlled by the noyelintermittent siphon and continuousdrain valye whichis generallydesignatedV. This valve fits iht'oahd forms a coupling betwee'n' andclosesthe openin I2 and the o-p'ning in-the bottom of the receptaclewhich is aligned therewith. V Thevalve comprises the short body l5'having adjacent the bottom end;the enclrclmg flange l6 and below thisflange the body is of the proper diameter tofform a plug or fitting 11,which 1s tightly engaged in the opening [2, passing through the bottomopening of the receptacle.

Extending axially throughthe' body l 5 1s a tapered seat 18 for thetapered rotary plug 19 and at the topetlge' of the body [5 is formedafrecessi2i) in whichis locatedthe rotary movehheh't, h'hntihg pin 21fwhich is carried, at the per end of the plug 19; This m limits themovement of the plug valve [9 to two operating positions.

The numeral'22 designates ppositely disposed drain openings formedthrough the body l in close proximity to and above the flange I5 wherebywater may be drained directly from the receptacle l4 through the plug ashereinafter described.

On an axis line extending perpendicular to the axis for the two openings22, the body l5 has a lateral opening 23 in which is secured the angledlower end of the short stand pipe 24. The upper end of this stand pipe24' is at a level, when the valve is fixed in the bottom of the re-'ceptacle, below the top of the receptacle so that when the water levelrises in the receptacle, if it is not, for any reason, drained offthrough the hereinafter described siphon tube, it will flow off throughthis stand pipe. The stand pipe thus functions as an overflow preventingthe level of the water rising beyond .a pre-desired height.

Another function of the stand pipe is to permit air to flow upwardlyinto the upper part of the receptacle and into the food chamber and inaddition allows for the escape of gases from within the food chamber.

The rotary plug I!) has a longitudinal passage therethrough, whichpassage is generally designated 25. At its upper end this passage isthreaded to receive a coupling nipple 26 to which is threadablyconnected the end of the short leg 2! of a substantially J -shapedsiphon tube which is generally designated 28. The longer leg 29 of thesiphon tube carries a coupling 30 which, when the valve is set up, comesinto close proximity with the bottom of the receptacle.

Joined to the siphon tube 28 in alignment with the short leg 21, is ahandle stem 3| which is laterally'turned at its upper end as shown.

The lower half of the valve plug passage 25 is of increased diameter asindicated at 25 and the lower part of the upper half of this passage isthreaded for threaded connection with the upper end of an inside outletor draintube 32 which extends through the portion 25' of the plugpassage and a substantial distance beyond the lower end of the plug. a

The lower portion of the enlarged lower end 25' of the plug passage isalso threaded for threaded connection with the upper end of the outsidedrain tube 33 through which the inside tube 32 extends, there being avery small space between the walls of the two tubes and the inside tubebeing ofgreater length and extending beyond the lower end of the outsidetube as shown. These tubes extend down below the bottom 13 of the foodchamber for discharge into any suitable receiver such as a pan 34 placedbeneath the refrigerator or a carry-off or drainpipe whichever may befound most desirable.

The plug l9 has the transverse aligned ports 35 which open into theenlarged upper portion 25' of the plug passage 25. Through these portsthe water may be permitted to flow from the receptacle through the tube33 and into the underlying drainage receiving pan.

- In the operation of the present device the plug l9 may be turned, bymeans of the handle 3|, either to a position where the ports 35 are inregister with the openings 22 of the valve body so that the liquid canbe drained directly from the receptacle or the plug may be turned to aposition where one of the ports 35 registers with the opening 23 andtherefore with the lower end of the stand pipe 24. If the Valve is leftI in this position it will be seen that as the water rises in thereceptacle l4 it will also rise in the outside or long leg 29 of thesiphon tube.

The height of the siphon tube is such that the top of the bend of thetube will be at substantially the maximum water level desired in thereceptacle while the upper end of the stand pipe 24- is slightly abovethe upper end of the bend of the siphon tube. By this arrangement thesiphon tube will always function to reduce the water level in thereceptacle before such level reaches the top of the tube 24 unless thesiphon tube should become closed or plugged for any reason, in whichcase the tube 24 will then act as an overflow to prevent the receptaclefrom running over.

By raising or lowering the nipple 30 which is upon free leg of thesiphon tube the low water level in the receptacle can be regulatedsince, as is well understood in connection with the use of siphons, thewater will continue to flow oiT from the receptacle through the siphontube after siphonic action has started, until the level drops below thelower end of the leg 29. Therefore by raising or lower the nipple 30 thelevel to which the water in the receptacle is reduced by the action ofthe siphon, can be regulated within the limits of adjustment of thenipple on the siphon leg.

The action of the siphon is brought about by the use of a relativelysmall tube or a tube of small inside diameter so that by capillaryattraction the water is caused to rise in tube 28 a little higher thanthe level of the water in the reservoir which causes the water to startflowing through the tube for discharge through the lower end of theconduit or out of tube 32. It will of course be understood that thisaction does not take place until the water level in the receptacle orreservoir [4 reaches the top of the bend in the tube 28.

I claim:

1. Automatic siphon draining means for a liquid receptacle having anoutlet, a siphon tube having one end extending through said outlet andhaving its other end terminating within the receptacle adjacent to thebottom of the latter and a discharge conduit having one end at apredetermined elevation in the receptacle above the said other end ofthe siphon tube and having its other end'opening downwardly around thefirst mentioned end of the siphon tube.

'2. A siphon structure as set forth in claim 1, with means forestablishing a fluid outlet connection between the lower part of thereceptacle and said conduit adjacent the lower end thereof.

3. A self starting siphon comprising a siphonic tube consisting of agoose-neck connecting at one side with a long leg and connecting with ashort leg at its other side, a short tube encircling and spaced from thelonger leg adjacent the lower end thereof, and an upstanding tubeconnected at its lower end with the upper end of the short tube andforming a stand tube through which liquid may overflow to run downthrough the short tube and escape around the open end of the longer legof the siphon tube.

4. A self starting siphon comprising a body having a passagetherethrough, the passage being of enlarged diameter through a portionof its length to one end, a siphonic conduit having a part of saidpassage included therein, the conduit extending at one end beyond thesaid one end of said passage and beyond its other end, and a stand tubesecured to the body and having its lower end opening into the portion ofthe passage ing one end secured to a tapered plug valve seat boretherethrough, a,

port leading through the body into the bore, a tube extending coaxiallywith the bore and havthe body and opening therethrough into the bore, arotary plug adapted to seat in said bore and having an axial passagetherethrough, said passage being of increased diameter through a portionof its length to its lower end, a port opening through the body of theplug into the portion of the passage of increased diameter and adaptedfor selective registry with the first port and with the tube, and

means forming a siphon conduit having a long leg and a short leg, thelong leg of the siphon conduit passing through the plug passage andbeyond the lower end of the plug, the siphon conduit being spaced fromthe wall of the portion of the passage of increased diameter wherebyfluid entering the said portion of the passage may flow downwardlyaround the adjacent end of the siphon conduit.

6. The valve structure as set forth in claim 5 with means carried by thesiphon conduit formin a, handl whereby said plug may be turned toselectively register the second mentioned port with the first port andwith the lower end of the tube.

CHARLES H. WALBERT.

